Hot on the heels of success getting a new London to Harrogate train, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has welcomed the announcement that Northern Rail is to increase the number of carriages on the Knaresborough to Leeds line.
From Monday 12 December, Northern Rail are increasing the number of carriages on six peak time services – three in the morning and three in the early evening. This will result in over 220 extra seats on this route every weekday.
MP Andrew Jones commented:
I would like to thank Northern Rail for making this extra space available on what can be very overcrowded services. I receive many complaints about the standards on the Leeds to York line and it is good to know that these are being listened to and acted upon.
Since December 2004, when Northern Rail took over the line passenger numbers have leapt by nearly 40 per cent.
Mr Jones continued: “The astonishing growth in passenger numbers shows just why we need permanent upgrades to this line with improved rolling stock and electrification of the line. Rail services are improving in our area and I am campaigning to make them better still.”
This must be a surprise for Mr Brian Dunsby and Harrogate Chamber of Trade. He will obviously now resign. The thrust of their argument for the daft proposal to electrify the Harrogate line with obsolete trains and obsolete ground rail has been discredited.
I am so pleased I tried to rubbish this proposal at the public meeting in July. I was insulted by many at that meeting and was suppressed in my objections by Councillor McKenzie who should now be ashamed for his actions.
I discovered by writing to Minister Theresa Villiers MP and the DfT that additional diesel units were being cascaded in to Leeds and other commuter centres in the North to ease overcrowding. If I knew, why didn’t Dunsby and Leving? They claimed there would be no additional trains until the end of the decade for the Harrogate Loop.
I have also found out from Mrs Villiers that overhead 25kv electrification to Harrogate will be considered after 2014 if funds are available after completion of trans Pennine electrification announced in the Autumn Statement. More modern and more powerful diesel trains displaced by this scheme will be cascaded onto the Harrogate line in the interim. If I knew this why didn’t Dunsby and Leving?
But of course they knew as they have jumped on the bandwagon by changing their story from only two months ago promoting ground rail and obsolete D78 Tube trains. They are now “pressing for overhead 25kv electrification and better diesel trains in the interim”. Where have I read this recently? THEY DONT HAVE TO PRESS, THE DfT HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THIS IN THEIR LETTER TO ME ABOUT 25KV. Dunsby and Co. are just trotting out press releases from the DfT as if it is their idea. We are being conned and the sooner people realise this and save the expense of employing Dunsby the better it will be.
There has been behind the scenes lobbying by a group of influencial West Yorkshire MPs for 25kv electrification. This is why trans Pennine electrification is going ahead now and is being considered after 2014 for Harrogate. Nothing to do with Harrogate Chamber of Trade. Andrew Jones MP sadly declined my invitation to join this group back in the summer and chose to support the Chamber’s dinosaur thinking. Maybe he should resign too.